R Vaishali becomes first Indian to win FIDE Women's Candidates - Set to take on Ju Wenjun in WCC final

India's Vaishali wins Women's Candidates, sets up title match with China's Ju Wenjun.

Updated on: Apr 15, 2026, 23:30:45 IST

ReutersEdited by Probuddha Bhattacharjee

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India’s Rameshbabu Vaishali won the Women’s Candidates Tournament on Wednesday, defeating Kateryna Lagno to secure a World Championship showdown with reigning champion Ju Wenjun of China.

R Vaishali competes in Candidates. (HT_PRINT)

Six players were still in the race for first place heading into the final round, with Vaishali and Kazakhstan’s Bibisara Assaubayeva tied on 7.5 points. Vaishali finished on 8.5.

The 24-year-old grandmaster ended the 14-game tournament with five wins and two losses, finishing half a point ahead of Assaubayeva, who drew her final game against India’s Divya Deshmukh.

Ju has held the title since 2018 after defeating fellow Chinese grandmaster Tan Zhongyi.

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She has since defended her crown successfully on multiple occasions, beating Kateryna Lagno in 2018, Russia’s Aleksandra Goryachkina in 2020, China’s Lei Tingjie in 2023, and Tan in 2025.

Uzbek grandmaster Javokhir Sindarov clinched victory in the open category with a round to spare, winning six of his 13 matches and losing none to set up a World Championship match against India's Gukesh Dommaraju.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Probuddha Bhattacharjee
Probuddha Bhattacharjee is a sports writer and analyst with expertise spanning cricket, football, and multi-sport events, with a strong emphasis on data-driven journalism and tactical storytelling. He currently focuses on international cricket, the Indian Premier League, global tournaments, and emerging trends shaping modern sport, blending advanced statistics with strong narrative context to explain performance, strategy, and decision-making. His work aims to bridge the gap between numbers and storytelling, helping readers understand not just what happened on the field, but the tactical and structural reasons behind it. Trained in data journalism through the Google News Initiative (GNI) Data Journalism Lab, Probuddha works extensively with ball-by-ball datasets, performance metrics, and trend-based modelling to produce evidence-backed reports, explainers, and long-form features. His analytical approach focuses not only on outcomes but also on process—selection strategies, phase-wise tactics, workload management, and the influence of preparation and planning on match results. He is particularly interested in how statistical patterns reshape conventional cricketing narratives and provide clearer tactical insight for modern audiences. Beyond cricket, Probuddha has written analytical and news-driven pieces on football and other major sporting events, with a growing interest in sports governance, scheduling dynamics, and the economics of elite competitions. He also tracks how rule changes, franchise structures, and broadcast pressures influence the evolution of contemporary sport. He has previously contributed to platforms such as OneCricket, Sportskeeda, and CrickTracker, and continues to specialise in analytical storytelling, live coverage, and audience-focused reporting. His work prioritises clarity, context, and credibility, while consistently exploring innovative ways to present data through accessible narratives and structured match analysis.Read More

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